A nutrient-rich soothing smoothie that is is helpful in healing an unhappy digestive as well as promoting a healthy gut.
Raise your hand if you ever feel like your guts are in shambles? Sometimes? Only the morning after an epic night of drinking like a sailor? The majority of the time? On the daily?
Truth be told, my digestive system has been a mystery to me for most of my adult life, which has prompted me to do a good deal of research over the past few weeks.
This previous statement may seem silly considering I wrote a book devoted to the cornerstone to the happy-go-lucky gut: probiotics.
Nevertheless, as it turns out, even if you maintain a healthful diet and active lifestyle, you aren’t granted the Get Out of Tumble Gut Free Card. On the contrary, keeping your insides in a state of bliss is a challenge to say the least.
The basic goal of this healthy gut smoothie is to introduce a plethora of good bacteria (probiotics) into your system, along with foods that not only aid in digestion, but also help heal and protect your stomach lining. I will preface the “health” talk by saying this is not a for-eeeeveryone smoothie.
If you have an intolerance to any of the ingredients in the smoothie, it obviously won’t be beneficial to your gut. That said, let’s talk ingredients and what they bring to the gut health table.
Ingredients for Healthy Gut Smoothie:
Kefir/Yogurt (probiotics): Big picture: your body is chock FULL of microbes, both good and bad. When bad bacteria is the majority party in the house, you become more susceptible to illness, stress, fatigue, and overall crappy mood syndrome. Oh, and you have a lower sex drive, true story.
Your goal is to maintain a healthy gut flora so that good bacteria dominate, thereby keeping not just your digestive system happy, but your whole being. Kefir and yogurt are full of probiotics, which help fight any bad microbes that already exist in your digestive tract, as well as creating a nourishing habitat where good bacteria can reign.
For the purpose of this smoothie, I recommend using kefir, as it contains three times more probiotics than yogurt. I use goat milk kefir I buy from the grocery store when I don’t have a batch of homemade kefir going. You can also make your own kefir or yogurt at home for a more cost-effective and controlled way of getting your probiotics.
For those who are dairy-free, you can also make coconut milk kefir and use an unrefined sugar versus cane sugar in order to fit all of your dietary needs. To get the know-how on making kefir and other naturally fermented probiotic drinks at home, check out my book, Delicious Probiotic Drinks).
Oh, and if you’re going to use store-bought cow’s milk yogurt for this smoothie, just be sure it’s made with whole milk from grass-fed cows.
Bananas: Basically, bananas are the Switzerland of foods. They’re neutral and help provide balance to your healthy microbes. Because bananas are high in potassium and magnesium, they reduce inflammation, which helps calm any bacterial infection that may be running rampant in your digestive system. (UPDATED NOTE 4/14: If you have high blood sugar, diabetes, or are sensitive to bananas, I’d recommend substituting steamed and frozen cauliflower (or cauliflower rice) for the banana).
Kale: Along with other cruciferous vegetables, kale contains glucosinolates, which when broken down by microbes, release substances that reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of cancer – particularly bladder, breast, colon, liver, lung, and stomach cancer. Essentially, you can look at kale like a really badass trashman or snowblower – it ploughs through your system, grabs onto carcinogen and pathogens, and effectively cleans them out. Not to mention, kale is also high in Vitamins K, A, and C, as well as folate. Let.Them.Eat.Kale.
Ginger: Civilizations have been using ginger as a natural cure-all for everything from upset stomach and nausea to colds and headache. A natural anti-inflammatory, ginger helps reduce swelling in your cells, and is also a natural antimicrobial. In this sense, ginger itself helps fight bad bugs, while creating a healthy environment for good bugs to live.
Honey: An enzyme in honey, glucose oxidase, produces hydrogen peroxide, which kills harmful bacteria. There are other antimicrobial properties in honey, which help stave off bacteria and viruses as well. Honey has been used as a natural treatment for as well.
Mint: Fresh peppermint leaves contain menthol, which s a natural analgesic that helps to relieve upset stomach. Most of the time, I don’t have fresh mint laying around, and have found the smoothie to be soothing without mint as well.
A Note About Dairy:
If you’re lactose intolerant, or live a dairy-free lifestyle, you can use non-dairy yogurt or kefir. When selecting the type of yogurt or kefir to use, be mindful of the amount of sugar the product contains (read the nutrition facts!).
Even if you use an unsweetened yogurt, chances are it’s still very high in natural sugars. The goat milk kefir I use obsessively only has 5 grams of sugar per 1 cup serving, versus the whole milk yogurt I enjoy, which contains upwards of 15 grams per 1 cup serving. Sugar, even if unrefined, feeds bad bacteria, which makes it more difficult for good bacteria to flourish.
Healthy Gut Foods:
YES Foods: Foods that are considered to be particularly soothing and healthy for your gut are naturally fermented foods and drinks (such as kimchi, sauerkraut, or naturally pickled vegetables, miso, kombucha, naturally fermented ginger beer, kefir, yogurt, etc), jerusalem artichokes, bananas, cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage), blueberries, ginger, dark chocolate, honey, and beans. In general, aim for lots of fiber.
As a side note, some articles I’ve read have mentioned oats as being good for your gut, although I personally find oats can be hit or miss for my own digestion. Just food for thought.
Foods to Avoid:
NO Foods: Foods you should always avoid are anything processed (said foods typically contain unpronounceable additives, refined sugars, and have had any semblance of nutrition stripped from them through the processing…process), fried food and foods rich in saturated fat, fast burning carbs (white bread, potatoes) refined sugar (or even high amounts of natural sugars), artificial sweeteners, coffee (don’t hate me), and alcohol (revisit previous parenthesis).
While this smoothie will by no means cure all of your digestive ailments in one fell swoop, it will at least put a dent in bad bacteria and will sooth your tummy for a short-term feel good elixir. Stay tuned for more info about your insides.
Until then, may your gut feel like a trillion butterfly kisses, and may all your poops be regular.
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tagme at @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Healthy Gut Smoothie
Ingredients
- ¾ cup plain whole milk kefir I use goat milk kefir
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk of choice I use coconut milk
- 1 large ripe banana
- 4 ice cubes
- 1 leaves or 2 kale chopped
- 1 teaspoons to 2 fresh ginger peeled and grated
Optional Add-ins:
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 leaves to 6 fresh mint
- 2 teaspoons green tea matcha powder
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste for flavor, and add a small amount of honey if desired.
What’s wrong with raspberries, besides the expense?
Nothing that I’m aware of 🙂 You can add raspberries to the smoothie if you’d like. xo
Hi Julia! In my search for taking the first steps to improving my gut health, I came across your blog here. I’m 68 and was diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagitis 25 years ago following participating in a clinical study ultimately what became known as Omeprazole. The last 12 years the reflux was so bad I was losing nearly 80% of everything I ate. After having non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006, I decided to make some changes in my life. I started eating better. I enrolled in college in 2009 and just before I graduated in 2015, I had a Nissen Fundoplication surgery which ultimately changed my life for the better. I also had a hiatal hernia repair. Unfortunately, in the past year that has come undone, so it is at this point that I’m looking to do more than just eat right and exercise but put more emphasis specifically on my gut health. Being lactose intolerant, I’ve managed to switch to almond milk, albeit unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk, so that’s what I’m using for this recipe. I couldn’t find regular kefir, so I’ve settled for a blueberry kefir. I hope that is acceptable here for this shake. In the meantime, until I can find some Manuka honey, I’m using regular clover honey. I’m a bit stubborn when it comes to new things, especially dietary things. I’m one of those believers that rice cakes aren’t too bad if you put enough frosting on them. I’m joking but you get the idea. So let me thank you for this blog, giving me the opportunity to take this first step out of my comfort zone and also if you could let me know if using a fruit kefir is acceptable. Needless to say, I was a little surprised that it didn’t taste too bad! Pretty good actually!
Hi David!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. It sounds like you’ve had such a positive attitude in spite of the health issues and that you’re doing the best you can! That’s all we can really do in life, so my heart goes out to you and huge kudos for continuing to work through everything with an open mind!!
The blueberry kefir is perfectly fine! In fact, that sounds delicious, so I may have to try it, myself! I’m so thrilled to hear you found the smoothie tolerable 😉 I don’t always find healthy recipes like this to be all that delicious, myself, but again my hat’s off to you for trying something new!! Much love to you and thanks so much again for coming to share! xoxox
Are you able to prepare these ahead of time and freeze all the ingredients?
Hi Tina! If you’re thinking of freezing the individual ingredients un-blended, I think it will work great! I’ve never tried freezing a smoothie after blending it, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. I would worry the banana would get funky, but I’m just not 100% sure. I wish I could be more help! xoxo
love the recipes !
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for the sweet note, James! xo
Hi! Just now trying to get into getting the good Flora back into my system after having strong antibiotics via IV for 7 days. The beginning date for it all was 8/10/2018. Have had pneumonia all most immediately after a week from discharge. Feel just so totally drained and tired.
I can’t think of a more delicious way to make my gut happy! I’ve been loving the goat milk’s kefir too. I mix it with a little almond milk yogurt and some berries. Puuuurrfection.
Btw, I’m totally on Team Banana. I’m pretty sure people who have developed diabetes weren’t walking around eating bananas all day long. Just sayin’.
Hi Julia,
I made this smoothie today and it was PERFECT. My gut was very happy and I can see this easily going into my usual morning rotation. Thanks for the amazing recipes – I love getting your posts in my inbox each week!
1 tlb flax seed has 40mg magnesium. So you would need almost 10 Tbl of flax seed, which is over 1/2 cup. Yeah. Flax seed smoothie. Yum!
I didn’t know you wrote a book! That’s so awesome- I definitely trust you and this smoothie 🙂 Totally delicious and very necessary, because I’m always a little confused as to what is going on with my digestive system!
Sounds delicious! I love a good banana smoothie.
This sounds really good, and healthy, which I like! Question: Would it be as healthy if I had to replace the 3/4 cup of whole or goat milk, and use all non-dairy? I am allergic to all dairy…unfortunately. I know yogurt is healthy, is the soy yogurt as healthy as the dairy based one?
Hey BJ!! You can definitely replace the yogurt/kefir with a non-dairy version. So long as it doesn’t contain added refined sugar, you’re good to go! Enjoy! xo